“Never stop praying.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Two of my daughters and I were outside trying to enjoy a campfire the other night. I say trying, because we couldn’t get the fire lit due to a recent rain shower. We were almost there when our long handled lighter ran out of fluid. There my girls were trying their best, but getting nowhere with a lighter that was dry as a bone. After a little while, they were looking at me saying, “Now what?” I asked them, Have you prayed about it?” You could see in my girls’ faces where almost a lightbulb turned on, but a cautiously optimistic one. The girls clasped their hands in prayer and laid hands on the lighter. They tried the lighter again. BAM! Fire! Of course the girls looked at me smiling and astonished. I told them, “Don’t look at me, I didn’t do that.” They both proceeded to praise Jesus while getting the fire pit started. All in all, we had a memorable experience that night with a lot of laughs and one important lesson about life.

Don’t think God is just paying attention to the big things of the universe, He’s also God over the small things as well. Your Father in Heaven is on your side and wants to hear your requests. The Bible says that God knows all things and knows what you need, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t come to Him any chance we get with our requests. As a daddy, I know my kids need certain things like food. It’s just waiting for them there in our pantry. All they need to do is ask and I’ll cook it for them. The same thing goes for God. His provisions are boundless and all we need to do is come to Him.

Let’s face it, what parent doesn’t like to hear from their beloved children once in a while? My girls’ voices are the sweetest things to my ears. Please realize that you are cherished by your Heavenly Father and that He smiles ear to ear when you have a conversation with Him. That’s all prayer is and should be, a conversation between you and your family. And it shouldn’t be just all requests. It’s fine to ask your daddy for things, but it means more to have you close and have a relationship. If you love somebody, you want to know more about them and spend time with them. You will never drain God dry of His blessings. He will always have more to give, but He will give a lot more to those of His children that He’s closest to.

That doesn’t mean you will get everything you ever want. Some things I have to tell my kids no about because it’s not right for them or maybe it’s not something in their best interests. Maybe it’s something I want to give them, like a Christmas present, but it’s not time yet. We don’t like to be told no over things and in today’s generation, it seems like we don’t know how to be patient for things. We like fast food and instant gratification for our desires, but that’s not usually the best thing for us in the long run. God sees us and knows our desires, but sometimes, in order to give us the very best He has in store for us, He needs to tell us “no” or “not yet.” That’s tough to handle, but God truly does know what’s best for us because He sees what’s going to happen next. We don’t. If we did see things the way God sees them, we would agree as well.

In 1 John 5:14-15, the Bible says, “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.”

The key is to stay close to Jesus Christ and get to know the desires of God. The closer of a relationship you have with somebody, the more you know the way they think and their future plans. My wife and I can just about finish each other’s sentences because we have a close and loving relationship. That has made me want things that are more keeping with her needs and desires. I wouldn’t do something knowingly that would be detrimental or in the opposite direction of where my family needs to be going. When you stick close to Jesus and spend time with Him, eventually your wants and desires start to match up with God’s desires. That is a truly powerful time. That’s the time that you will see blessings flow like a river. You will take part in that abundant life the Bible speaks of. When you are close to Jesus, your life will never be the same.

So don’t be afraid to ask for the little things as well as the big things. And don’t worry about what’s to come. Pray about it. Soon you’ll see that even the tiniest of details is in your Heavenly Father’s hands.

God’s blessings to you.

DH

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